MILESTONES: ONE MONTH IN GUMI

I just read a blog post by my good friend Anna who is now studying yoga in Mysore, India. We both studied English Lit at Hendrix, but we also both needed a second major to round out our interests. Anna is an amazing writer and I would encourage anyone interested in India or travel in general to read her blog, balancing the world. Her meditations on life in Mysore capture the sounds and smells of that specific place, but also the general feeling of traveling. Living in a foreign country one can feel frustrated or lost — always on the cusp of inclusion but never included, always listening but lacking understanding. I've heard other Fulbrighters mention this feeling as well, a kind of malaise of communication. I myself have been lucky in that my family and the teachers at my school speak English admirably well.

This last week and a half I have felt more included than ever before: I visited my co-teacher's home and played with her 3 adorable children, brought home Baskin Robins and ate it with my host family to celebrate my first month in Gumi, met up with a Fulbright friend for coffee and gossip, and attended orientation for mentoring a North Korean Defector. It's been a very busy time as my relationships here begin to blossom.

My co-teacher's daughter and harmonica.

The first time I met my co-teacher she told me "Not all days will be good, but every day I will be with you." At the time it was highly reassuring and now, a month later, I know that she meant it. We share an office together at school, taking coffee breaks between our classes. We've also been taking walks behind the school when we find the time, but going to meet her family was a new step. My co-teacher has a daughter who is ten in Korean age (8 in American age) and two twin girls who are 2 in Korean age (20 months in American age). Since my co-teacher and her husband both work her mother stays with them during the week to take care of the twins. The twins talk to each other in a secret whistling language no one else can understand. One twin is a little stronger and more confident. She tries to take my earrings. The other twin is a little smaller, a little warier. She cries when her grandma is far away. Yet she's also musical, always burbling in her strange language and tapping her feet. Their older sister is in elementary school but seems older, acquiring some maturity from caring for her sisters. She loves swimming and riding her bike. I stayed overnight and hope to go back again soon.

Afogato: vanilla ice cream, rolled in almond slivers, smothered in an espresso shot.

Last weekend marked an important date — the anniversary of my first month in Gumi. I had hoped to get out a bit and hike Geumo Mountain. However, it stormed most of the weekend ruining my outdoors plans. Instead, on Saturday I took a train to the nearby Gyeongsan to visit my friend Sophia. I ended up meeting her host family then going out for coffee/desserts. We meant to do work while drinking coffee (in fact I meant to catch up on blogging) but instead we talked the whole time filling each other in on our own situation in Korea and those of our friends. It left me refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the week before Chuseok.

Sunday I ventured into Daegu for the North Korean Defector volunteer orientation. A North Korean Defector is (according to the South Korean Government) someone who has left North Korea, but still has some tie there such as an occupation, a home, a family and does not have any other citizenship. According to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, since 2008 almost 3,000 people defected to South Korea each year, the majority of them women. This number has fallen to almost half in 2012 most likely due to the death of Kim Jong-il resulting in stricter border control (to be clear, this is secondhand information from my orientation coordinator at the Hana Center).

Since arriving in Korea I have attended several talks about North Korean defectors (during and after Fulbright orientation). What motivated me to volunteer, though there are so many reasons to do so, was that on top of all the practical difficulties of arriving in South Korea from the North, these people often face exploitation along the way. There are several routes to get to the South, but the most commonly used route is by foot and bus through China, then a combination of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia into Thailand. Once in Thailand the defector goes to the South Korean Embassy and announces that she is a North Korean defector. Then she is kept in custody of the Embassy until paperwork is finished at which point she is sent on a plane to South Korea. In South Korea she is immediately picked up by South Korean intelligence officials and thoroughly interviewed — both to gain information and to ascertain that she is not a spy.

However, for many women this path ends, or takes a long detour, in Northern China where many women become subject to sex trafficking or forced marriages due to the imbalance of the sexes in this area. This also means many women arriving in South Korea arrive with half-Chinese children whose status' are particularly difficult to ascertain.

Our role as volunteers will be to act as mentor and English tutor for the defectors now living in Daegu. Each teacher will be assigned a mentee to meet with once a week for English lessons. However, on top of these English lessons we are encouraged to meet outside of 'class' time and have fun as a way of promoting cultural exchange. There will also be a fun group event each month that we are strongly encouraged to attend. Though it will be difficult for me to meet too often due to the commute time to Daegu I still hope I will have the opportunity to get to know my mentee and make her feel a bit more comfortable in her new home.

On my way home, feeling pleased with myself for successfully taking the train to Daegu, I picked up a pint of Baskin Robins for the family. (Baskin Robins is wildly popular here.) Seeing their happily surprised faces was great, but eating mint chip and quarterback crunch together was even better.